shy Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a quick throw
    • he gave the ball a shy to the first baseman
  2. verb start suddenly, as from fright
  3. verb throw quickly
  4. adjective lacking self-confidence
    timid; diffident; unsure.
    • stood in the doorway diffident and abashed
    • problems that call for bold not timid responses
    • a very unsure young man
  5. adjective satellite short
    • eleven is one shy of a dozen
  6. adjective satellite wary and distrustful; disposed to avoid persons or things
    • shy of strangers

WordNet

Shy adjective
Etymology
OE. schey, skey, sceouh, AS. sceóh; akin to Dan. sky, Sw. skygg, D. schuw, MHG. schiech, G. scheu, OHG. sciuhen to be or make timid. Cf. Eschew.
Wordforms
comparative Shier or Shyer; superlative Shiest or Shyest
Definitions
  1. Easily frightened; timid; as, a shy bird.
    The horses of the army . . . were no longer shy, but would come up to my very feet without starting. Swift.
  2. Reserved; coy; disinclined to familiar approach.
    What makes you so shy, my good friend? There's nobody loves you better than I. Arbuthnot.
    The embarrassed look of shy distress And maidenly shamefacedness. Wordsworth.
  3. Cautious; wary; suspicious.
    I am very shy of using corrosive liquors in the preparation of medicines. Boyle.
    Princes are, by wisdom of state, somewhat shy of thier successors. Sir H. Wotton.
Shy intransitive verb
Etymology
From Shy, a.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Shied ; present participle & verbal noun Shying
Definitions
  1. To start suddenly aside through fright or suspicion; -- said especially of horses.
Shy transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To throw sidewise with a jerk; to fling; as, to shy a stone; to shy a slipper. T. Hughes.
Shy noun
Definitions
  1. A sudden start aside, as by a horse.
  2. A side throw; a throw; a fling. Thackeray.
    If Lord Brougham gets a stone in his hand, he must, it seems, have a shy at somebody. Punch.

Webster 1913